Described as “an avalanche of water, stones and mud”, the consequences of so many days of rain swept through the streets of Portalegre in the early hours of this morning, causing untold damages, particularly to parked cars.
Portalegre mayor Fermelinda Carvalho says the “only consolation” is the fact that there were no injuries. “People were in their homes, there were no cars circulating at the time”, she has told reporters as images of the drama are now all over social media.
The situation this morning is little better. The water continues to pour down from the Serra de São Mamede – and the mayor explained to Rádio Portalegre that it is still not clear “what has happened in the forest” for such a vast quantity of water to bear down on the town, and keep flowing.
Council workers were already in the area when the disaster began, Fermelinda Carvalho adds, due to the high levels of rainfall,and the understanding that situations would/ could occur during the night. But “no one was prepared” for what the mayor dubbed “an avalanche” of water, mud and, in some cases, very large stones” that suddenly came bowling through parts of the town.
“It is a real catastrophe”, she told Rádio Portalegre, adding that offers of help have come pouring in; council workers are all focused on clearing roads and unblocking drains, etc., heavy machinery is already ‘on the ground’ – but “recovering from this will take weeks”.
The main damage has been suffered between the avenues of Santo António (which runs alongside Portalegre hospital) and Liberdade, as well as in the area of Rossio.
One theory of the origin of the cascade of water and detritus has been reported by Lusa, citing a source for Civil Protection Sub-Regional Command, who suggested that “the stream behind the hospital burst its banks”. The source described parked cars being ‘flipped’ by the force of the waters, while elsewhere in the municipality there have been other issues: localised flooding, reports of fallen trees and roads that have become impassable.
The hospital meantime has activated its “emergency plan” by dint of the fact that its accesses are currently compromised. A source has stressed that the hospital itself is undamaged, and no-one inside it has come to any harm.
Sources: Rádio Portalegre/ noticiasaominuto/ Lusa
